Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Utah anglers, boaters use 1800s law to fight 2010 waterway law

In the 1880s and 1890s, the Provo River through
the Heber Valley served as a floating highway for timbers and railroad
ties logged in the Uinta highlands. That century-old practice is being cited today
in court to argue that Utah boaters, anglers, hunters and others should
be allowed access to waterways even when they flow through private
property — access that has been blocked by a law adopted in 2010. Representing the Utah Stream Access Coalition
(USAC), attorney Craig Coburn argued last week in a Heber City
courtroom that HB141 violates the "public trust doctrine" in a case that
highlights the growing tension between private property and
recreational access to public land and waters. Public trust is a
centuries-old legal concept that maintains certain natural amenities —
like coastlines, lakes, rivers and their beds — remain public domain
because of their importance to commerce, according to University of Utah
law professor Robin Craig. USAC claims the doctrine imposes a duty on
government to manage such assets for the benefit of the public, while
streamside property owners and the state say the government meets its
obligation by simply retaining title or control. "The public has the same right as the owner of
that [river] bed to use those waters. It includes the right to
reasonably touch the bed. The only caveat is the public has to gain
lawful access to those waters. They can’t cross private land to get
there," Coburn told 4th District Judge Derek Pullan on Tuesday. HB141 made it so anglers, kayakers and others
have to get a landowner’s permission before walking on the private bed
of a public body of water...more